Four Students Earn Pre-Doctoral Summer Fellowships

SEASIDE, Calif., May 16, 2018 – Four CSUMB seniors, all Sally Casanova Scholars for the 2017-18 academic year, have been awarded summer research fellowships for the summer of 2018 through the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship Program. All four pre-doctoral scholars have been awarded up to $8,000 each in support of their summer research to cover the cost of housing, meals and a research stipend.

Jacob Green, Robert Castro, Heriberto Marquez and Julia Barnett

Marine Science major Jacob Green, who was mentored by associate professor Cheryl Logan and assistant professor Nathaniel Jue, will head to the University of Rhode Island to help rebuild the eastern oyster genome.

"I look forward to taking knowledge gained as an undergrad and applying it to solve a problem that is important to the Rhode Island community. Summer research funding through the Pre-Doc Program means I can continue to develop my skills as a researcher and academic exploring how local communities, their economies, and their environments intersect,” said Green.

Biology major Robert Castro, whose CSUMB faculty mentor was assistant professor John Goeltz, will study the influence that race and sexual orientation have on HIV vulnerability at New York University.

"I am excited to embark on my summer research at NYU to work on a study that integrates both my educational backgrounds, biology and statistics.”

Social Behavioral Sciences major Heriberto Marquez, whose faculty mentor was Professor Ruben Mendoza, will head to UC Santa Cruz to help catalog and curate osteological remains from Dos Pilas, an ancient city in Guatemala.

The PreDoc not only provides research funding, but connects present scholars to a network of past Sally Casanova Scholars, many of whom have provided me with support and advice on grad school, summer research and life in general. I feel totally prepared for my summer of research at UC Santa Cruz and applying to grad school programs in fall."

Heriberto Marquez

As undergrads, all four Sally Casanova Scholars were part of Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) and worked with their CSUMB faculty mentors and UROC to meet their graduate and professional goals.

The California Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase the pool of potential faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of California State University (CSU) students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. The program places a special emphasis on increasing the number of CSU students who enter doctoral programs at one of the University of California (UC) institutions.